I'd love to hear the logic on Crawford

OmerV

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Crawford time should be done here. Griffen and snacks need to be here now! Our line would be top ten and it wouldn’t stop us from taking kinlaw if he’s there in the draft. Good god
It’s possible they might sign one of the two, but they won’t sign both.
 

Sydla

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Were we short on cap space last year? I was thinking we had space.
In other words, who cares if they wasted the money if it didn't keep them from buying more.

As for this year, there is no present urgency to cut or restructure Crawford....period.
They can cross that bridge when they get there.

The point is if they are concerned that they only have $24MM in cap space, they could easily swap him out and bring in a better DL for his cap hit and still be sitting around $24MM.

I think that's the point people are making.
 

thunderpimp91

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But the team is protective of cap space like a mama bear protects her cub.

They can easily swap out Crawford's contract for Griffen's and make the team better and still have $24MM or so in cap space.
I agree with you in a lot of ways. If Crawford is the starting DE come week 1 this front office hasn't done its job. But this isn't madden where you can just sign anyone you want at any time. Why not wait to make a move on Crawford until you have someone better under contract? I'm just not sure what i'm missing with that logic?
 

CATCH17

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Dallas has the secret sauce for mediocrity and they just keep doing the same thing year after year during player acquisition time and they continue to get similar results.


Maybe they get decent coaching and that changes.

Id like to see them get aggressive on draft day.
 

Dre11

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He was not the reason the DL scuffled at times. It was largely a lack of talent beyond one or two players.

Griffen is a better DE than Crawford. It's not even comparable. He'll likely cost what we are taking in a cap hit on Crawford.

It's a no brainer to swap them. But again, Jerry and Stephen often struggle with not overvaluing guys they drafted.


lol....boy oh boy, Griffen will come in and play just DE , Crawford may not be better overall at DE, but he does way more from a versatility aspect. It's funny that when you actually watch film and understand what a player does and how he affects your defense rather than just rambling. They absolutely missed him last season, that from D Law's own mouth. but just a little.snipet of what Crawford brings.

 

Sydla

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I agree with you in a lot of ways. If Crawford is the starting DE come week 1 this front office hasn't done its job. But this isn't madden where you can just sign anyone you want at any time. Why not wait to make a move on Crawford until you have someone better under contract? I'm just not sure what i'm missing with that logic?

Because you can do them simultaneously. You can get a guy under contract and then immediately cut Crawford. Note, I am not saying they should cut Crawford right this second and not have a plan in place. What I am saying is you have a pretty good DE sitting out there in Griffen, who is apparently looking for $9-10MM on a shorter term deal.

Go get Griffen now and basically swap his cap hit for Crawford's.
 

ESisback

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Crawford is a $9.1MM cap hit this year and would save $8MM if cut.

He's not a starting player for us. Lawrence is the LDE, McCoy is better and likely the starter at the 3T, Woods is bigger and more able to hold up at the 1T spot and Crawford is not a RDE.

I don't think Crawford is a bad player by any stretch. He serves a purpose and is a capable backup. But that's all he is........... a backup. And when you watch this organization penny pinch the hell out of FA, it's strange that they seem content on letting a backup DL eat up nearly $10MM in cap space.

There are two starting caliber RDEs out there in Golden and Griffen. Clowney would be a third if you want to think big. We lack a starting RDE. Cut Crawford (Or even restructure and save 4-5MM in cap space) and bring one of them in. Crawford would not be hard to replace in FA as there are some backup caliber DTs out there.

I'd love to get a few JW Blues in Jerry and listen to him explain why they value Crawford that much.

He’s a “Witten”?
 

Stash

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Were we short on cap space last year? I was thinking we had space.
In other words, who cares if they wasted the money if it didn't keep them from buying more.

I guess you were unaware, but that money saved can be rolled over from one year to the next.

As for this year, there is no present urgency to cut or restructure Crawford....period.
They can cross that bridge when they get there.

In case you didn't know this as well, free agency has started. Teams are cutting bad contracts, freeing up cap space, and signing new players and improving their teams. There are, in fact, far better defensive line options out there, although many have signed elsewhere while the Jones sit on their hands and continue to have awful contracts like this on their books.
 

Sydla

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lol....boy oh boy, Griffen will come in and play just DE , Crawford may not be better overall at DE, but he does way more from a versatility aspect. It's funny that when you actually watch film and understand what a player does and how he affects your defense rather than just rambling. They absolutely missed him last season, that from D Law's own mouth. but just a little.snipet of what Crawford brings.



The "versatility" of Crawford is largely overplayed. He's a backup player. You have a hole at RDE and need to improve your pass rush.

Go get Griffen and if you want to free up some space to pay for him, Crawford is an easy cut or restructure.

I guarantee if you cut him loose, no team would sign him to a contract that would eat up $9MM in cap space for one season.
 

Redball Express

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Crawford is a $9.1MM cap hit this year and would save $8MM if cut.

He's not a starting player for us. Lawrence is the LDE, McCoy is better and likely the starter at the 3T, Woods is bigger and more able to hold up at the 1T spot and Crawford is not a RDE.

I don't think Crawford is a bad player by any stretch. He serves a purpose and is a capable backup. But that's all he is........... a backup. And when you watch this organization penny pinch the hell out of FA, it's strange that they seem content on letting a backup DL eat up nearly $10MM in cap space.

There are two starting caliber RDEs out there in Golden and Griffen. Clowney would be a third if you want to think big. We lack a starting RDE. Cut Crawford (Or even restructure and save 4-5MM in cap space) and bring one of them in. Crawford would not be hard to replace in FA as there are some backup caliber DTs out there.

I'd love to get a few JW Blues in Jerry and listen to him explain why they value Crawford that much.
Crawford came out of the period where we had drafted Gregory and he failed..

drafted Tank and he quickly got suspended..

the team got desperate for help and also signed David Irving as well.

It was a real cluster fruck time.

Crawford was reliable and young and got his deal.

At this point, his contract has ballooned and it's really like a savings account we have squirreled away for a rainy day.

Last year he was injured. He got paid and his legal issues cropped up.

We did nothing.

The Cowboys are like this. They will help players who have helped them.

And Crawford has helped them despite the money issues.

But I think this is going to change.

They will offer for him to stay but they will strip some cash out to help the cap.

I hope he stays, but it's a business as we all get reminded.

So we will see.

I am assuming we will draft DL this year. Keeping Crawford to show how to be a swing DL makes sense.
 
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Dre11

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The "versatility" of Crawford is largely overplayed. He's a backup player. You have a hole at RDE and need to improve your pass rush.

Go get Griffen and if you want to free up some space to pay for him, Crawford is an easy cut or restructure.

I guarantee if you cut him loose, no team would sign him to a contract that would eat up $9MM in cap space for one season.

lol...oveplayed by who? the guy plays all over the DL and is effective...lol that's not overplayed it's fact
 

fivetwos

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Why wait? Its idiotic because that $8MM in saved cap space can land you immediate help right now. Why not trade Crawford for Griffen right now? It makes you a better football team.
Yes DEFINITELY.....but....

The same guys in charge of cutting Crawford are the same guys who would sign someone else with his cap money.

So....it isn't like department A is in charge of cap space and is preventing department B from signing additional help.

Crawford is not worth his money, nor am I saying they shouldnt sign anyone else.

I'm just answering the the question.

So we are clear, if it were me...yes I'd have Crawford gone and use that money elsewhere, but the two in charge don't see it that way.
 

Dreski

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Or just bring in Griffen, he's your starting RDE and is better than Crawford and then Gregory can work his way in as a situational pass rush where they can kick Lawrence or Griffen inside next to McCoy.
I would like us to get Griffen! I think I’d feel better with him on our line. But I wouldnt cut Crawford if we got him, you can never have too many guys on the D Line, injuries happen all the time. But idk what they have planned, but he is overpaid
 

thunderpimp91

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Because you can do them simultaneously. You can get a guy under contract and then immediately cut Crawford. Note, I am not saying they should cut Crawford right this second and not have a plan in place. What I am saying is you have a pretty good DE sitting out there in Griffen, who is apparently looking for $9-10MM on a shorter term deal.

Go get Griffen now and basically swap his cap hit for Crawford's.
I'd love to see that happen, and i think it still could happen. Gotta be patient though...especially right now. I'm sure Griffen has a number of teams contacting him. Travel & physicals are tough in some areas right now. You also have to look at it from the players perspective. Dallas may have Gregory coming back this year. Does Griffen want to go somewhere that he may lose snaps, or have a younger player looking over his shoulder? After all this could be his last couple seasons in the NFL.

Again i agree with you as far as what i want to see happen, you just seem to be oversimplifying things.
 

DFWJC

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I guess you were unaware, but that money saved can be rolled over from one year to the next.



In case you didn't know this as well, free agency has started. Teams are cutting bad contracts, freeing up cap space, and signing new players and improving their teams. There are, in fact, far better defensive line options out there, although many have signed elsewhere while the Jones sit on their hands and continue to have awful contracts like this on their books.
Don't you think if Dallas had a player they wanted and his cap hit was more than the 23 mil they have, they would've make a move to free up space?

Anyway, besides all that, I think they see his value higher than we do. for better or worse.
 

DFWJC

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The point is if they are concerned that they only have $24MM in cap space, they could easily swap him out and bring in a better DL for his cap hit and still be sitting around $24MM.

I think that's the point people are making.
But they can still do that. They aren't locked into Crawford. Could cut him in a microsecond.
 

Typhus

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Why wait? Its idiotic because that $8MM in saved cap space can land you immediate help right now. Why not trade Crawford for Griffen right now? It makes you a better football team.
Does it?
 

CF74

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Well now that bars are all closed I agree, he is an overpriced rotational back up and we can’t use him as a bouncer anymore...
 
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